Among the Pentecostals in Nigeria today, the church is not only a household name but massively followed by young and upwardly itinerant people. It is a flock of young and young at heart, particularly in Lagos, where its headquarter is located.
Daystar Christian Centre is among churches in Lagos “alleged” to have captured the nation’s future, the young minds.
A typical service day at any of its worship centres in Oregun, Lekki and Ikorodu, all in Lagos, will convince any doubting Thomas something keeps the crowd coming. What is your guess? Follow me till the end of this piece.
Established November 18, 1995 with the leading of the Holy Spirit under the leadership of Dr. Sam and Nike Adeyemi, the church has its mission defined: “To empower you and I to discover, develop, release and maximize our potentials in God.” According to Myles Munroe: “When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.” Vision, according to Dr. Adeyemi, is God’s answer to adversity. Daystar Christian Centre’s defined its focus from the inception.
As the church marks its 26th anniversary today, this piece seeks to expose why you should NOT make Daystar Christian Centre your place of worship. Follow me!
Leadership is everything in life. In fact, everything rises and falls on the leadership. Nigeria today is bedeviled with the dearth of quality leaders at all levels. But at Daystar, one major thing that strikes a chord as you worship there is the exemplary leadership of the leading pastors and the associates. No faking of smiles, no forming of super nature beyond human beings. They are real and it shows.
The leadership of the church is an open book for all to read. From the finances to administrations. All aspects of the church operations are open for members to know. Twice every year, the senior pastors, Sam and Nike Adeyemi give reports of the church finances to the members, detailing how and what is spent on what. As a member for over a decade, this was a shock to me as this was not the practice from my previous place of worship. Daystar is synonymous with accountability.
Nothing changes when a man’s mind thinks backwards. Joining Daystar Christian Centre positions your mind to see possibilities. Transformation of your inner mind, man and thinking becomes obvious as you join to worship. This was my experience over a decade ago when I joined. Many have also testified of the same experience following the true to life principles being taught. Want real and practical TRANSFORMATION? Join Daystar Christian Centre!
If you are looking for a church where love is preached, practiced and projected as a principle for life and living, Daystar offers you a home. The core message of the church is love. It is a principle in the church that “no member of the church should go hungry”. To my mind when I joined over a decade ago, I queried that line. But today, I am more convinced seeing over 2,000 well-organized cell fellowship centres spread across the city of Lagos by the church. These cell fellowships are practically rescue centres for many including those who are not regular members of the church. They benefit immensely from the benevolence spirit of the church.
From payment of school fees, feeding the have not, payment of medical and accommodation bills for members and the regular dishing out of raw food stuff from the church food bank, Daystar Christian Centre represents the true love a church of Christ on earth should be.
Among the members, the flow of the practical Christianity from pastorates is evidently felt. One day, I was driving and my car developed a fault around the Yaba area of Lagos. Just about a few minutes later, a car pulled in front to assist. In Lagos? It is strange. But guess what? The brother stopped to offer help because he saw behind my car the sticker of the church. Wow, you said. Yes, that is how infectious love and practical ways of living are potent among us. Every Daystar member is seen and appreciated as an extension of God. Hence, any offering or service not fit for God is not fit for any member. Would you like to be among such congregants?
Some churches are heavenly conscious but earthly irresponsible. Far from it when it comes to Daystar Christian Centre. From my knowledge and what I could see as a member, this church is heavy when it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility. This can be seen from the reconstruction of dilapidated school buildings within its community to Ikosi Road rehabilitation and many other social courses. The church leadership was recently given an award by the Lagos State Government as one of the organisations that is up to date in tax payment.
In 2019, the church donated N10 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in support of victims of conflicts in Africa. According to the church: “When people flee their homes and leave everything they own behind, their needs become critical and their coping mechanisms compromised. Without help, they cannot access shelter, or even cooking utensils – let alone education and healthcare.
“Some arrive with severe trauma after facing unimaginable ordeals before and during flights. We need to do something like Jesus Christ did; he provided food for the hungry, he touched sick people physically and healed their sicknesses.”
This doesn’t sound like a conventional Nigerian church to me. Daystar is a church with a difference!
During the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the church donated PPE equipment worth over N12 million to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital to support the government. Also, the church supported the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos State with N11 million for COVID-19 related research solutions. Surprised that these and many more were not in the news? Yes, the church doesn’t make noise of its exploits in the press. The spirit behind these and many interventions is not for public show but for the expansion of God’s kingdom while fulfilling the vision of raising role models in the society.
Just recently too, the church started a programme called Daystar Internship Programme. The programme is designed to provide a platform for the organisation to build a pipeline of next generation home grown talent. Through this internship programme, young graduates will have a first-hand experience of what it feels like to work with Daystar either as a Pastor, or as a professional in any of our Non-Pastoral Units. This underscores the strong leadership quality of the church.
The annual leadership conference of the church, Excellence In Leadership Conference, is Africa’s number one leadership conference. ELC enlarges the capacity of thousands of leaders from all sectors in Nigeria, Africa and the world for God’s glory. It serves as a platform for leaders to share ideas, compare notes, network and learn tips for successful leadership.
In these past 26 years, Daystar Christian Centre has built people, organisations and successful entrepreneurs. Why not join those who are committed to building a new Nigeria, New Africa that will prosper?
. Osanyintuyi, a member of Daystar Christian Centre, writes from Lagos.
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